Faith is ILLOGICAL!!!

What is faith??? Everybody has something different to say.  As for me, Faith is Absolutely Illogical! Thats my POV.

I wanna tell you a story. 'Not so long ago, there was a man on a mountaineering mission. It was a dark winter night, and he was climbing up a steep, dangerous snow clad slope, when he suddenly lost control and fell... He fell off a cliff...... but fortunately on his way down to certain death he caught hold of a tree which grew right out of the cliff. He held on to it for dear life. It was very cold and foggy, so much so that he couldn’t even see his feet. While dangling in mid-air, he heard a voice asking him to “Let go”. Scared as he was, he tried ignoring that voice, but he kept on hearing the very same words again and again.  He realized that God was asking him to “Let go. Fall.” He said, “Here I’m hanging in mid air, holding onto a tree. I can’t even see what’s below me, and you are asking me to let go! What a stupid thing to do! I better stay here and wait for help than jump to my death. It would be morning soon and someone would come to rescue me.”  The morning surely did come soon, but not for him. That morning the local villagers were stunned to see a man frozen to death, holding on to a tree just a few feet above the ground!!' All because he thought that letting go was not logical enough.

These days we have become so logical. We try to look at pros and cons in everything we do. But there are some things where logic doesn't apply. Falling in Love is one such thing. And faith is nothing but falling in love with God! Not because we deserve His Love but because He loved us first. (1John4:10). Why should God who created everything, come in the form of human and live on earth? Why should God die on the cross for our sins, for the sins of every human past, present and future? Why should God forgive sinners, those who forsook Him, those who humiliated, stripped, chastised, crucified Him? Illogical? Absolutely!! God’s love for us is illogical and that’s how our faith should be: ILLOGICAL!!

Our simple faith is what God values and appreciates. I was just reading a passage from the Bible when I stumbled across a verse which hit me hard. Many a times when we pray we say ‘Lord, let it be done to me according to your will.’ But this verse was just the opposite! In this passage (Matthew9:27-31), two blind men follow Jesus asking Him to heal them. What Jesus tells is absolutely amazing. He says, “Let it be done to you according to your Faith.”(Mt9:29) Not according to His will, or according to what they deserve, or according to what is expected, or according to their ability or inability, or according to anything else. He just says, “according to your FAITH!” And that’s what happened. Their faith in Jesus was strong and needless to say they received what they asked for. This just showed me how much God values our innocent, blind faith. Faith can move God’s heart.

I would like to share an experience that one of my friends had. World Youth Day (WYD) is an event in which millions of youngsters from all over the world come together at one place to share, profess and grow in their faith in Christ. In 2005, Cologne, Germany hosted the WYD. My friend dearly wanted to go for it. But there was a major obstacle: Money. Somehow he arranged enough money for flight tickets, visa etc. After all this was done he hardly had any money left with him. He has been praying and longing to go for WYD for a long time. Finally he decided to go for it, even though it seemed completely illogical. When he left Chennai International Airport he had just Rs 500 (approx $10) with him and this was basically for his train fare back from Chennai to his home when he returns. He had absolutely no idea about what to do once he reaches Cologne. But he had faith in God! He prayed, he prayed every morning. And God sent him an angel every day. Every day He would come across someone who would sponsor his breakfast, lunch and dinner, would take him around and would give him a place to stay. All this, without him asking it from them.  It didn’t happen for a day or two, but for two week! In these two weeks he went around Cologne, Germany and France. He had a beautiful time during the WYD, and when he landed back in Chennai International Airport, he still had that Rs 500 with him. Everybody called him crazy when he decided to go for the WYD with just Rs 500 in his hands, but his illogical faith in God made it all possible. He had an all expense paid trip to Europe for two weeks and an experience of a lifetime, just because he trusted in God blindly.

Faith is ILLOGICAL! I'm someone who strongly believes in logical reasoning. Unless there is a strong logic supporting a choice, I wouldn't go for it. But when it comes to following God's ways, I try to keep the logic part away. Coz Faith is ILLOGICAL. And it is just that. Surely there are enough and more reasons to believe God exists, to logically prove His presence. But unless one experiences His Love, all the knowledge and reasons are  absolutely useless. And the only way to experience His Love is to trust in Him blindly.

The next time you have any doubt, confusion or dilemma, the next time you face a situation that you are not so sure of, the next time things are not going the way you want them to, the next time you have a decision to make, the next time you don’t know what to do, just close your eyes, have faith in God and jump.........                

the loving arms of God, our Father would be there to catch you.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew17:20)

Faith can move mountains.... More importantly faith can move God's heart. Have Faith.

Oh.... Daddy!!

For a long time I thought that blogging was not my cup of tea. It needed a lot of time and dedication and I was not ready for it. But tonight, suddenly, I found the urge so strong and so urgent that i just took the step... So here is my first post. Just wanted to share a small incident from my life which left a Big Impact on me.

Being an Electronics and Communication Engineer might sound cool for a few, interesting for some, boring for others; but being in an engineering college is definitely an experience worth re-living. Just above a year ago I was in one of the numerous engineering colleges spread across the country. The four year long roller coaster ride, the four years of bliss, the four years of fun, the four years of non-stop activities, the four years that taught me the most about life (and something about engineering) and surprisingly the four years that changed a boy who would run away from Church into a man deeply in love with Jesus!!!

I was blessed enough to study in a Government Engineering college in South India. And one thing about our college was that all through the year everybody was busy!! Either we were writing one exam or the other, or preparing for them, or moaning at the ones that just got over, or most often trying to figure out ways to postpone or even cancel the coming ones!! It was during one of these exam seasons when I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I was then in the third year and our internal exams just got over. And as any other ‘normal’ student I too believed in last moment preparation. We had back-to-back three days of exams, two papers each day. And on the last day I had to sacrifice my lunch to prepare for the afternoon exam, as I had absolutely no idea about the subject. After the exam one of my friends and I couldn’t hold back the call from within our tummy any longer. We rushed to the nearest restaurant. And as we were waiting for our order to be delivered I  glanced across the restaurant and saw a man and his son, about five years old, feasting on masala dosa. The young boy, though excited, was worn out by the enormous task of eating something that was almost half his size. So it was daddy’s turn to help him out. It was delightful to see such a loving father-son relationship. Even while we were having our teatime lunch I couldn’t help myself from looking at the other table every now and then. I was so happy to see such a loving, caring father. The love he had for his son touched me. He was feeding the boy with so much love that for once I wished I were that boy. But soon the plates, both theirs and ours, were empty. They reached the billing counter just before us and as we were waiting for our turn something happened that shocked me.

At the counter the boy asked for a candy. I expected his request to be granted right away. But to my surprise his daddy said, “NO!!” The boy kept on insisting but his daddy refused. He just paid the bill and walked out. I was dumbstruck. How can a person who was so caring just a few minutes ago, suddenly become so rude!! What happened to the perfect father-son relationship?? My opinion about the man changed drastically. From an affectionate father he became a cruel dictator in no time. A selfish person who can spend Rs 30-35 on masala dosa, but couldn’t buy his son a candy worth 50 paise!!

As we walked to the nearest bus stop they were walking in front of us. The boy was now crying badly. But still holding on to his daddy’s hand he walked ahead. He kept on pleading for the candy but his daddy turned a deaf ear. I was so disgusted at all this that I almost decided to buy the boy a candy if his daddy couldn’t!! I restrained myself. Soon we reached the bus stop. At the bus stop there were a few small shops. I saw the daddy stopping in front of one of them and to my surprised asked his son “ Now tell me which all do you want?” The shop was lined with jars full of candy of different colours and flavours. The expression on the boy’s face changed suddenly. The tears rolling down his cheek gave way to a smile that stretched from ear to ear. His wet eyes began to shine. The boy who was till now stamping his feet in rebellion started jumping with joy. Though confused initially, he managed to get a hand full of his favourite candy instead of just one he would have got from the restaurant.

Isn’t our relationship with God, the Father similar? When we ask something from Him and He grants us, we are so full of joy and thank Him for His love. But the moment one of our prayers isn’t answered we start cursing Him the way I cursed the man when he refused to give his son the candy. Within no time our opinion and relationship with Abba Father changes. We tell all sorts of thing against Him, stop praying and even question His existence. But the small boy taught me a lesson. Though he was sad, heartbroken, disappointed, and angry he never left his daddy’s hand. He just held onto it, walked with him wherever he was taking him till the moment they reached a place where his desires were answered beyond his wildest dreams!!

May be God, our Father wants us to do the same. No matter how depressed or sad we are, no matter how wrong things are going in our lives, no matter what struggles we face in our lives, no matter if all our desires and plans are falling into pieces, no matter how many prayers are going unanswered...our Father wants us to just trust in Him. To jump into his ever loving arms, To just hold onto His loving hands as He takes us to the next step in our lives where he has prepared something wonderful for us, something much more than what we ever imagined.

So the next time your prayer is answered be happy, because it is good for you. And if your prayer is not answered be happier, because it is the best for you!! God has something better in store for you!!

“For surely I know the plans I have for you”, says the Lord, “plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremaih29: 11)